Lim Chong Yah (b. 1932, Malacca, Malaysia–) is an eminent economist and academic best known for serving as chairman of the National Wages Council for 29 years. Lim is professor emeritus at both the National University of Singapore and Nanyang Technological University, ...
The Straits Times strike arose from a dispute over the terms of reinstatement of a dismissed worker. The strike was considered illegal as no prior notice was given as required by law. The Straits Times management subsequently dismissed the workers who took part ...
The Singapore Glass Manufacturers Co Ltd was a leading manufacturer of glassware, plastics and cardboard in Singapore. Its factory, popularly known as the Singapore Glass Factory, stood on Henderson Road, and was a famous landmark in Bukit Merah for many years. ...
Strikes and other forms of labour unrest were common in 1950s Singapore. The year 1955 saw 57 cases of labour unrest involving bus company workers, including the Hock Lee bus workers’ strike and riot. That same year, bus workers of the Singapore Traction Company ...
The Growth Triangle is a concept of mutual cooperation in economic development among three ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries – Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore – focusing on Singapore, the Riau province in Indonesia and southern Johor in ...
The Port of Singapore Authority (PSA) was formed on 1 April 1964 to take over the functions, assets and liabilities of the Singapore Harbour Board. It was operating five maritime gateways by 1990, including Keppel Wharves, Jurong Port, Sembawang Wharves, Tanjong ...
Located on Keppel Road near the entrance to the island of Sentosa, St James Power Station was a coal-fired power station built by the British between 1924 and 1927. The power station was decommissioned in 1976 as it was unable to meet Singapore’s rising demand ...
Indian jewellers or Indian goldsmiths designed and hand-crafted gold jewellery that was sold either in shops or directly by them to their customers. They were Indian men who worked mainly around Little India especially in shophouses along Upper Dickson Road and ...
Samsui women, also known as hong tou jin (红头巾; Mandarin for “red headscarf”) after their trademark red headgear, were female immigrants mainly from the Sanshui (“Samsui” in Cantonese; meaning “three waters”) district of Canton (Guangdong today) province in southern ...
From 1825, Singapore began receiving Indian convicts from British India to serve out their sentences, and assist with the labour shortage and development requirements in the colony. Singapore, being the fastest growing of the Straits Settlements, which also comprised ...
The Singapore International Foundation (SIF) is a non-profit organisation established on 1 August 1991 to further Singapore’s globalisation efforts. It was incorporated as a public company limited by guarantee, overseen by a board of governors, and headed by then ...
On 30 April 1955, about 1,300 port workers employed by the Singapore Harbour Board Staff Association (SHBSA) went on strike for better wages and working conditions. The strikers included tally clerks, stenographers, storekeepers and accountants. The strike ended ...
Chengara Veetil Devan Nair (b. 5 August 1923, Jasin, near Malacca, Malaysia –d. 7 December 2005, Canada ), better known as just Devan Nair, was Singapore’s third president and first Indian president.
Jamit Singh (b. 1929, Ipoh, Malaysia–d. 10 December 1994, Ipoh, Malaysia) was a well-known trade unionist in Singapore. He inspired and united the port workers in colonial Singapore against the Singapore Harbour Board, and won several concessions for them in 1955. ...
Ridzwan bin Haji Dzafir (b. 27 March 1927, Singapore–d. 28 September 2011, Singapore), commonly referred to as Ridzwan Dzafir, was a civil servant best known for his extensive experience in trade promotion and negotiations. As director-general of the Trade Development ...
With the port being the cornerstone of Singapore’s economy, the Singapore Harbour Board Staff Association (SHBSA) – which on 18 October 1946 became the first union to be officially registered under the 1940 Trade Unions Ordinance – has played a pivotal role in ...
When the Emergency was declared in 1948, the communist-linked Singapore Federation of Trade Unions (SFTU) went underground. The Singapore Trades Union Congress (STUC), with the support of the colonial government, was formed in 1951 as a federation of trade unions ...
Govindasamy Kandasamy (b. 23 May 1921, Province Wellesley, Penang–d. 20 March 1999, Singapore), better known as G. Kandasamy, was a veteran union leader, politician and community leader. He founded the Amalgamated Union of Public Employees (AUPE) in 1959 and served ...
Constructed in 1862 by the Singapore Gas Company, Kallang Gasworks was the first site dedicated to the manufacture of gas from coal for street lighting. In 1901, this function was taken over by the Municipal Commissioners, and gas production was expanded for industrial ...
After the split in the People’s Action Party (PAP) that led to its left wing setting up the Barisan Socialis, the Singapore Trades Union Congress (TUC) also split into two rival factions: the National Trade Union Congress (NTUC) and the Singapore Association of ...